HoldsUp

Chris Williamson · 2026-08-06 · Chris Williamson (host), Macken Murphy, Steve Stewart-Williams, Rob Henderson

The New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

54 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 2 overstated 5 context 26 supported 19 unverified

2

Contradicted by research

1:09:44Macken Murphycontradictedhigh

A worldwide preference matching paper by Paul Eastwick found no sex differences in how trait assessments predicted overall romantic evaluations of partners, with partner sexual skill ranking highest.

"So the directionally correct summary is that he had people assess their romantic partners on various traits and then saw how much those assessments correlated with their overall romantic evaluations of them. And in that he found no sex difference. Um and he also found some weird findings like that the number one thing people wanted was someone by that measure was someone good in bed." (said at 1:09:44)

In a large-scale registered report involving 10,358 participants across 43 countries examining ideal partner preference matching across 35 traits, Paul Eastwick and colleagues did find gender differences in how stated preferences related to revealed romantic evaluations. Specifically, for physical attractiveness, both men's and women's stated preferences underestimated revealed preferences (they evaluated attractive partners more favorably than predicted by their stated ideals), while for earning potential, men underestimated and women overestimated revealed preferences. Furthermore, the study did not find that partner sexual skill or being "good in bed" ranked highest among traits in predicting romantic evaluations.

1:25:22Macken Murphycontradictedmoderate

Fathers today spend more time on childcare than mothers did in the 1950s.

"a man today spends more time with children, I believe, I I think I heard this from you, that it was than than women did in the 1950s." (said at 1:25:22)

Historical time-use diary data (which began systematic collection in the United States in 1965) show that modern fathers spend significantly more time on childcare than fathers did in the mid-20th century (increasing from roughly 2.5 hours per week in 1965 to about 7–8 hours per week today). However, mothers in 1965 spent roughly 10 to 14 hours per week on primary childcare, and even more time in total contact/presence with children. Consequently, modern fathers still spend fewer hours per week on childcare than mothers did in the 1960s (and modern mothers spend even more time on childcare today than mothers did in 1965).

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.